With over 20 years of experience covering the Steelers for the Observer-Reporter, Dale Lolley will let you know the insider scoop. Dale can also be heard on the Steelers radio network pre-game show on WDVE-FM game days and Tuesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. on ESPN 970-AM and WDVE during the season as a host of the Antonio Brown Show. Follow him on Twitter at @dlolleyor

Monday, November 28, 2011

Post-Kansas City thoughts

Sloppy is the only way to describe the Steelers' 13-9 win at Kansas City Sunday night.

And not just sloppy play, but coaching as well.

Both the offensive and defensive units were penalized for having 12 men on the field. I can't remember the last time that was called on the Steelers once, let alone twice, in the same game.

Add to that Ben Roethlisberger's inexplicable brain cramp when he waived the punting team off the field on fourth down in the third quarter from the KC 39, only to take a timeout with time expiring and you get the idea that nobody's head was really in this game.

Kansas City outcoached and outplayed the Steelers for much of this game. The Steelers were fortunate that Tyler Palko was in the Christmas mood and kept on giving.

32 comments:

penalties, penalties and more penalties. drives me crazy but tomlin does nothing about it year after year. o-line looked bad after playing well recently. wallace dropped a few. arians can't call a game to save his ass. ben...good grief. hard to argue with tomlins success, but it sure looks like he is content to just stand there and let things play out on gameday. no way should the talent on this offense be as inconsistent as it is.

Joe,Not sure what you mean by Tomlin standing by year after year with penalties. 2009 the Steelers were like 23rd in penalties. Last year they were tied with two other teams for 12th. So far this year, they're 21st. This isn't the raiders or chargers we're talking about. The Steelers are a fairly veteran and disciplined team. Like all teams they sometimes do stupid things and I think last night you could chalk up at least four of the penalties to crowd noise (not an excuse, just an explanation).

Undoubtedly Ward's career is nearing its end, but I think he would have caught that pass Wallace dropped in the end zone and the one Brown dropped near the end of the game that would have been a first down. These are the situations where Ward excels and there's no reason not to use him there.

I think all OLs have trouble on the road hearing signals. I'm not sure the Steelers O-linemen are any better or worse than those of any visiting team.

This amazes me. Since 1992 (almost 20 years), the Steelers have played KC 11 times and 10 of them on the road. I'd reckon KC should be spending the next two decades playing in Pgh when the two teams are scheduled to meet.

Make up your mind Dale, you've been preaching "check down Ben" for a while now, and when he finally starts checking it down consistently you start asking where Wallace is. I personally don't care how they do it, I just want to see TDs instead of field goals.

Ward will make some incredible grabs down the stretch. He's far from done, when the team needs him the most he will deliver.

I don't want to speak for Dale but I think he's referring to the underneath stuff going to Wallace and Brown who have the potential to break it big. Why not call the underneath plays for Wallace more often? The Chiefs were giving him a cushion and whenver the Steelers took advantage of it they gained considerable 1st down yardage.

I have to agree with Dale on the 4th down time out/brain fart that Ben gave up. Why not take the delay of game? Its 4th down at your 39 if you're going to punt whats the harm in doing it from your 44?

I haven't checked the stats but it sure seems like the Steelers are slow starters out of the bye week.

Of course there's no reason Ben can't throw shorter on-time passes to Wallace and Brown or Miller -- this is more what we of the The Checkdown Ben Movement are talking about, as opposed to merely dumping the ball off to Mewelde Moore or whatever, although that is sometimes necessary as well. (At least I think that's what it means - am I right?)

Wallace should be an almost-automatic 8-yard out any time you need it.

Ben's brain cramp is completely unsurprising. It's just a more creative way than usual to waste second half timeouts.

I also think Ward in the red zone and third-down situations can still be a significant factor.

Kapinos did a good job punting last night. (We're fortunate no one traded up to draft him whatever year he came out :) )

Nice to see Worilds have a good game. It's hard to tell how good the defense played because they basically just did what they're supposed to do in that situation -- stand there and wait for the ball to be thrown directly at them -- for alot of the game. The two long drives in the 4th quarter are worrisome but part of a pattern...

Last night the defensive front 7 was getting thin as the game wore on. They only dressed 5 DL. Woodley and Sylvester were inactive, then Carter and Foote (iirc) got hurt in the game leaving them shorthanded at LB.

Do you think that Worilds is here to stay??Guy was unblockable. Maybe he's finally healthy as it takes forever to get over hamstring injuries???

Is it me or does it seem like Arians gets a gameplan in his head and wont change up regardless of how effective it is??? On tv looked like the slant and hitch were easy money last night. But i can only see so much from those angles.

The penalties were a big cause of a lot of frustration as well as the drops last nights. the To after the fake 4th down was equally as bad.But like Dale said the youngsters had a great game like Worlids and Mundy.But also to know w/o Tyler mistakes the steelers dont't come away with the win.

Ever since Jerome Bettis left they haven't had a back who consistently punches the whole with authority. Even Redman who I like looked tentative at times. I realize that the NFL has become a passing league but that doesn't mean they can't play with a little bit of a running mentality and smack an opponent in the mouth every now and then. This team lacks toughness and a little bit of nasty. Without it they won't last in the playoffs.

Agreed, an ugly win, but a win. The Steelers have proven this season to be a team that rebounds after less than good performances. I expect Cinci to get beat handedly next week, and the Steelers need to prepare as such.

Wallace should get a few more touches, but the fact that he draws the double team is opening up the easy stuff underneath. I'd rather see the more of the underneath stuff go to Brown, because he is a play maker, but if a defense is going to give you 10 yard routes to Miller, Ward, and Moore all day then take it. It worked against the Patriots.

The Steelers need to get the run game going, the redzone percentage is suffering because of the lack of run game.

i think we have way to many penalties under tomlin. it's something that should be focused on in practice. they are a huge pet peeve of mine when playing football. i don't know the exact stats, maybe i'm wrong about it, but cohwer was a stickler about penalties being kept to a minimum.

as for polo, dale, do you really think diving in head first was the best way to tackle ? he plays to reckless when it comes to tackling and has never been good at it. that concussion may cost him several games and might have him in more trouble long term because he keeps getting them.

bens play to side step the defender and make a great toss to the te was a thing of beauty. on the other hand he can't consistently keep it in his head to hit the short stuff and keep the chains moving.

mendy hasn't been used properly since we drafted him. he should be racking up huge yards catching the ball out of the backfield. as for the running game, i think they are so focused on pass protect, they just don't run block well

with the talent on o, i just expect more points (only thing that matters-i don't play fantasy)

i have saw so many complain about the defensive draft picks instead of getting o-linemen. yes the o-line isn't that great. (get two in the off season and they should be set though) but all the defensive picks look to be setting this defense up for the next seven-eight years though. plenty to get excited about with the young guys coming on this year on d